Creating a new user account is a common operation
for any computer being shared by multiple users.In
Mac OSX , you have the option to create different
types of users. In this article, I will be showing
the different account types, and how to create a new
user.

Open
System Preferences. Do this by
clicking on the Apple logo
in the top left side of the screen and
then click on System
Preferences...

In
System
Preferences, under System,
click on Users & Groups

If
the Add (+) button , which is used to
add a new user account, is grayed, then
we will have to click the lock icon
to unlock it, and type an administrator
name and password

Once the user
name and password of an administrator
account is typed, click the Unlock button.

Click the Add (+) button below the list
of accounts

A
new window will open where you will need
to fill the details of the new account
you want to create

Choose a type of account
from the New Account pop up menu

Administrator: An
administrator can create, delete, and
modify accounts, install software, and
change system settings.

Standard: Standard
users can install software for their own
use and change settings related to their
accounts, but can’t administer other
user's accounts.

Managed with Parental
Controls: For these accounts,
the administrator can restrict access to
applications and inappropriate content,
and limit the amount of time users can
use the computer.

Sharing Only:
Sharing-only users can access shared
files remotely, but can’t log in or
change settings on the computer.

Group: A group
account contains other user accounts and
is used for setting privileges for
shared files.

Note : There is another user type,
which is the Root user, that you can not create because
its already created. Its the "super user", most powerful
one, which I will discuss in a future article.

Type the full name of the user you
want to create an account for.

An account name is generated
automatically for user accounts. If you
want to use a different account name,
you can, but
after the account is created, you can’t
change the account name.
The account name is used to name the
user’s home folder, and can be used as
the login name.

Enter the account password in the
Password and
Verify fields, and then, if you
want, enter a hint to help the user
remember the password.
If you wish the system to generate for
you a password, then click on the key
button.
Where you can set the type of password
you want and the lenght of it.

Once everything is set, click
Create Account. If
automatic login is turned on, then you
will be asked if you want to keep it on
or turn it off. Make up your choice and
click the appropriate button.
As a suggestion, creating different user
account on a single machine, means this
computer will be shared by different
users, hence its better to turn off
automatic login, so that whenever the
system is restarted, the users are
presented with the login screen ,
instead of automatically loggin on into
the account who's account was created
first,or set to automatically login.

Once everything is set, click
Create Account. If
automatic login is turned on, then you
will be asked if you want to keep it on
or turn it off. Make up your choice and
click the appropriate button.
As a suggestion, creating different user
account on a single machine, means this
computer will be shared by different
users, hence its better to turn off
automatic login, so that whenever the
system is restarted, the users are
presented with the login screen ,
instead of automatically loggin on into
the account who's account was created
first,or set to automatically login.

Summary

In Mac OS X, you have the ability to create
different user types: Administrator,
Standard, Managed with Parental
Controls, Sharing only, Group.
Each account type has its different access priviliges.
In a future article, I will be discussing the Root user,
which is the "super user" and most powerful account in
MAC OS X.